# 美人
## Chinese
### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): měirén
    (Zhuyin): ㄇㄟˇ ㄖㄣˊ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): mei$^5$ jan$^4$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): mî-ngìn
    (Hailu, HRS): mui$^ˋ$ ngin
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): bí-lîn / bí-jîn
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^6$me-gnin; $^6$me-zen
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: měirén
*** Zhuyin: ㄇㄟˇ ㄖㄣˊ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: měirén
*** Wade–Giles: mei$^3$-jên$^2$
*** Yale: měi-rén
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: meeiren
*** Palladius: мэйжэнь (mɛjžɛnʹ)
*** Sinological IPA : /meɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵/
*** Homophones: [Show/Hide]$^{edit}$每人 美人
** (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed) (美人兒 / 美人儿)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: měirénr
*** Zhuyin: ㄇㄟˇ ㄖㄣˊㄦ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: měirénr
*** Wade–Giles: mei$^3$-jên$^2$-ʼrh
*** Yale: měi-rénr
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: meeirel
*** Palladius: мэйжэньр (mɛjžɛnʹr)
*** Sinological IPA : /meɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐəɻ³⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: mei$^5$ jan$^4$
*** Yale: méih yàhn
*** Cantonese Pinyin: mei$^5$ jan$^4$
*** Guangdong Romanization: méi$^5$ yen$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /mei̯¹³ jɐn²¹/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: mî-ngìn
*** Hakka Romanization System: mi$^ˊ$ ngin$^ˇ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: mi$^1$ ngin$^2$
*** Sinological IPA: /mi²⁴ ŋin¹¹/
** (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
*** Hakka Romanization System: mui$^ˋ$ ngin
*** Sinological IPA: /mui⁵³ ŋin⁵⁵/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bí-lîn
*** Tâi-lô: bí-lîn
*** Phofsit Daibuun: byliin
*** IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /bi⁵³⁻⁴⁴ lin²⁴/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /bi⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ lin²⁴/
** (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bí-jîn
*** Tâi-lô: bí-jîn
*** Phofsit Daibuun: byjiin
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /bi⁵³⁻⁴⁴ d͡zin¹³/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /bi⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ zin²³/
* Wu
** (Northern: Shanghai)
*** Wugniu: $^6$me-gnin; $^6$me-zen
*** MiniDict: me$^去$ nyin; me$^去$ zen
*** Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): $^3$me-nyin; $^3$me-zen
*** Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /me²² n̠ʲin⁴⁴/, /me²² zən⁴⁴/
* Middle Chinese: mijX nyin
Rime :
| Character | 美 | 人 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 明 (4) | 日 (38) |
| Final (韻) | 脂 (17) | 眞 (43) |
| Tone (調) | Rising (X) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Open |
| Division (等) | III | III |
| Fanqie | 無鄙切 | 如鄰切 |
| Baxter | mijX | nyin |
| Reconstructions |||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /mˠiɪ$^X$/ | /ȵiɪn/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /mᵚi$^X$/ | /ȵin/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /miɪ$^X$/ | /ȵʑjen/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /mji$^X$/ | /ȵin/ |
| Li Rong | /mji$^X$/ | /ȵiĕn/ |
| Wang Li | /mi$^X$/ | /ȵʑĭĕn/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /mi$^X$/ | /ȵʑi̯ĕn/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | mǐ | rén |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | mei$^5$ | jan$^4$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*[m]rəjʔ ni[ŋ]/
    (Zhengzhang): /*mriʔ njin/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 美 | 人 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | měi | rén |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ mij$^X$ › | ‹ nyin › |
| Old Chinese | /*[m]rəjʔ/ | /*ni[ŋ]/ |
| English | beautiful | (other) person |
| Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary. |||
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 美 | 人 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| No. | 8951 | 10800 |
| Phonetic component | 美 | 人 |
| Rime group | 脂 | 眞 |
| Rime subdivision | 2 | 1 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 美 | 仁 |
| Old Chinese | /*mriʔ/ | /*njin/ |
| Notes | 甲文象大人首插翎羽表美觀， 取陳獨秀說 | |

### Noun

美人
* beautiful woman; beauty; lovely lady
* (archaic) royal consort
    From: c. 77 B.C.E., 劉向 (Liu Xiang), 《說苑》 (Garden of Stories), chapter 6
    Chǔ Zhuāngwáng cì qúnchén jiǔ, rìmù jiǔhān, dēngzhú miè, nǎi yǒurén yǐn měirén zhī yī zhě, měirén yuán jué qí guānyīng, gào wáng yuē: “Jīn zhě zhú miè, yǒu yǐn qiè yī zhě, qiè yuán dé qí guānyīng chí zhī, qù huǒ lái shàng, shì juéyīng zhě.” [Pinyin]
    King Zhuang of Chu threw a banquet for a bunch of his ministers. As nightfall approached, many of them became tipsy. At one point, the candles blew out, and someone took advantage of the darkness to grab at the queen’s garments. The queen caught hold of the cord which held the person's headpiece in place, yanked it off, then said to the king, "After the candles blew out, someone grabbed at my clothes. I yanked off the cord which holds his headpiece in place. Bring over a candle so that I can see who is missing a cord for their headpiece."

#### Synonyms

* (beautiful woman):
* 佳人 (jiārén)
* 佳麗 / 佳丽 (jiālì) (literary)
* 出水芙蓉 (chūshuǐfúróng) (figurative)
* 嫭 (hù) (literary)
* 嬌 / 娇 (jiāo)
* 紅顏 / 红颜 (hóngyán) (literary, figurative)
* 美女 (měinǚ)
* 行雨 (xíngyǔ) (literary, figurative)
* 靚女 / 靓女 (chiefly Cantonese)
* 麗人 / 丽人 (lìrén) (literary)
| Variety | Location | Words |
| Classical Chinese | Classical Chinese | 美女, 美人, 佳人, 佳麗, 麗人, 紅顏, 嬋娟 |
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 美女, 美人, 佳人 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Beijing | 美人兒 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Taiwan | 美女 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Singapore | 美女 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | 靚女 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | 靚女 |
| Cantonese | Taishan | 靚女 |
| Cantonese | Kaiping (Chikan) | 靚女 |
| Cantonese | Dongguan | 靚女 |
| Cantonese | Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) | 靚女 |
| Cantonese | Singapore (Guangfu) | 靚女 |
| Hakka | Meixian | 標緻妹仔, 靚妹仔, 靚女 |
| Hakka | Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua) | 靚女 |
| Southern Min | Xiamen | 媠查某 |
| Southern Min | Xiamen (Tong'an) | 媠查某 |
| Southern Min | Quanzhou | 媠查某 |
| Southern Min | Anxi | 媠查某 |
| Southern Min | Zhangzhou | 媠查某 |
| Southern Min | Zhao'an | 媠查某 |
| Southern Min | Singapore (Hokkien) | 媠查某, 俏母 |
| Southern Min | Manila (Hokkien) | 媠查某 |
| Southern Min | Shantou | 雅諸娘 |
| Southern Min | Jieyang | 雅諸娘, 雅儂 |
| Southern Min | Leizhou | 顯娘 |
| Southern Min | Wenchang | 靚母 |
| Southern Min | Singapore (Hainanese) | 靚母 |
| Zhongshan Min | Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi) | 靚妹 |

#### Coordinate terms

* 帥哥／帅哥 (shuàigē)

#### Derived terms

* 橙紅美人蕉 / 橙红美人蕉
* 睡美人 (Shuìměirén)
* 美人兒 / 美人儿 (měirénr)
* 美人命薄
* 美人尖 (měirénjiān)
* 美人局
* 美人拳
* 美人樹 / 美人树
* 美人沱 (Měiréntuó)
* 美人燈兒 / 美人灯儿 (měiréndēngr)
* 美人癆 / 美人痨 (měirénláo)
* 美人胎子
* 美人胚子
* 美人蕉 (měirénjiāo)
* 美人計 / 美人计 (měirénjì)
* 美人遲暮 / 美人迟暮
* 美人香草
* 美人髻 (měirénjì)
* 美人魚 / 美人鱼 (měirényú)
* 英雄難過美人關 / 英雄难过美人关 (yīngxióng nán guò měirén guān)
* 蘇美人 / 苏美人
* 虞美人 (yúměirén)
* 蛇蠍美人 / 蛇蝎美人 (shéxiē měirén)
* 香草美人

#### Descendants

* → Japanese: 美(び)人(じん) (bijin)
* → Korean: 미인(美人) (miin)
* → Vietnamese: mĩ nhân (美人)

## Japanese
### Etymology 1

Kanji in this term :
| 美 | 人 |
| び Grade: 3 | じん Grade: 1 |
| kan'on ||
From Middle Chinese 美人 (MC mijX nyin, literally “beautiful (especially feminine) + person”). Compare modern Min Nan reading bí-jîn.
The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) びじん [bíꜜjìǹ] (Atamadaka –)
* (Tokyo) びじん [bìjíń] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [bʲiʑĩɴ]

#### Noun

美(び)人(じん) • (bijin)
* a beautiful woman, a beauty, a belle
    モナ・リザといえばやはり美人(びじん)ですね。
       Mona Riza to ieba yahari bijin desu ne.
       That Mona Lisa, she really is a beauty, isn't she.
* a handsome man
* (rare) an ideal ruler or sage, worthy of one's love and respect
* (historical) in ancient China, the fifth of fourteen ranks for imperial ladies-in-waiting
* (figurative) a euphemism for a rainbow

##### Usage notes

The beautiful woman sense is the most common in everyday use.

##### Synonyms

* (beautiful woman): 美女(びじょ) (bijo)、佳人(かじん) (kajin)
* (handsome man): 美男子(びだんし) (bidanshi), 美男(びなん) (binan)

##### Derived terms

* 美人画(びじんが) (bijinga): a genre of pictures, depicting feminine beauty; a picture of this genre
* 美人傘(びじんがさ) (bijingasa): a large and deep umbrella that was fashionable in the late Meiji period
* 美人(びじん)コンテスト (bijin kontesuto): a beauty pageant, a beauty contest
* 美人蕉(びじんしょう) (bijinshō): the Chinese-derived alternate for 姫芭蕉 (hime bashō, literally “princess plantain”), a variety of plantain of family Musaceae
* 美人草(びじんそう) (bijinsō): alternate name for 雛罌粟 (hina-geshi, literally “chick poppy”): Papaver rhoeas, a field poppy or corn poppy
* 月下美人(ゲッカビジン) (gekkabijin)

##### Idioms

* 美人(びじん)というも皮一重(かわひとえ) (bijin to iu mo kawa hitoe): “even a beautiful person only has one skin” → beauty is only skin deep
* 美人(びじん)に年(とし)なし (bijin ni toshi nashi): “a beautiful person doesn't have an age” → a beautiful person often looks young no matter their age
* 美人(びじん)の終(お)わりは猿(さる)になる (bijin no owari wa saru ni naru): “the end of [being] a beautiful person is turning into a monkey” → a beautiful woman becomes less beautiful as she ages
* 美人(びじん)は言(い)わねど隠(かく)れなし (bijin wa iwanedo kakure nashi): “even if you don't say that someone is beautiful, there's no hiding it” → if someone is beautiful, it's obvious
* 美人薄命(びじんはくめい) (bijin hakumei): “a beautiful person has a thin [i.e. short] life” → beauty often doesn't last

### Etymology 2

Kanji in this term :
| 美 | 人 |
| かおよ Grade: 3 | ひと > びと Grade: 1 |
| jukujikun | kun'yomi |
* Alternative spelling
* 顔佳人
Compound of 顔 (kao, “face”) +‎ 良 (yo, “good”, the stem of adjective 良い yoi, “good”) +‎ 人 (hito, “person”). The hito changes to bito as an instance of rendaku (連濁).
The 美 kanji spelling for the kaoyo portion of the reading is an example of jukujikun.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ka̠o̞jo̞bʲito̞]

#### Noun

美(かおよ)人(びと) • (kaoyobito)
* (archaic, possibly obsolete) a beautiful woman, a beauty, a belle

### References

* 1 2 3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

## Korean

Hanja in this term :
| 美 | 人 |

### Noun

美人 • (miin) (hangeul 미인)
* hanja form of 미인 (“a beautiful woman, a beauty, a belle”)

## Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term :
| 美 | 人 |

### Noun

美人
* chữ Hán form of mĩ nhân (“a beautiful woman”).